Evening Topwater Action

After working around the house today, I decided to hit the wildlife refuge for some evening topwater action.

I was targeting sea trout but as usual, I would take anything that bites.

Karen went horseback riding so I packed up the truck with four spinning rods and headed out to Peacocks Pocket road to see how many out of town visitors were in the area.

Today was beautiful and sunny with an air temperature in the high 70s. There was a mild breeze blowing over the Indian River that was not enough to cause problems casting and just enough to keep things cool.

Since today was more of a scouting trip than anything else, I cruised the road as slow as possible looking for signs of fish activity in the salt marsh and the river.

The water in the salt marsh was up and I saw sea trout and redfish in several of the small ponds busting baitfish on the edges.

The river didn't show sign of fish activity however as I drove around Peacocks Pocket road, I saw a couple of people wade fishing the shallows and a party in a flats boat fishing very close to shore on the Indian River side.

Since the water was colored from the rains, I started out blind casting a Johnson Sprite gold spoon to locate some fish.

My casting arm got tired before I had the first hit, but the fish rewarded me by dancing all over the place before I landed her.

It was a fat, roe laden 23" ladyfish that I considered cutting up and using for bait but instead quickly released.

The deeper marsh canal wasn't producing today and almost all the fish I spotted were in the shallow water ponds around the weeds.

I moved on to the next pond and wasted too much time trying to catch a huge sea trout that was attacking baitfish on the surface.

 The fish came out of the water a couple of times allowing me to identify that it was a sea trout and not a red. It was so big that it literally sloshed around when it hit a bait.

I tossed the gold spoon, a Chug Bug in two patterns, a Bomber Badonk-A-Donk , a Rapala "Skitter Walk" and finally a "Heddon Zara Spook Jr." that I caught several large sea trout on but the fish showed no interest in any of the baits.

I finally caught this sea trout on the gold Johnsons Sprite which I promptly released.

I left the house at around 5:00pm and around 7:30pm the evening topwater action started to pick up.

When the wind died down almost completely, the fish started busting baits around the reeds in the small ponds as they meandered to the deeper marsh canal.

I cast to a few fish as they got within casting range and missed three fish before this 23" sea trout clobbered a gold and black Chug Bug.

I was temped to keep the fish for dinner but decided to release it instead.

I caught a couple more sea trout in the same area on the same Chug Bug just before dusk before I decided to put up my rods and call it a day.

The mosquitoes and gnats were discovering that my body was a source of food for them and I didn't appreciate being on the menu.

When conditions permit, April is a great month for evening topwater action for gator sea trout and redfish in the Mosquito Lagoon and Indian River.

Till next time, Tight Lines.

Wading Catfish Creek

Wading Catfish Creek wasn't on the agenda this afternoon but that turned out to be exactly what I would up doing.

Odie

My wife, Elmo and Odie wanted to go fishing so Karen and I packed up the rods, some frozen bait and headed for the closest water available.

Unlike yesterday, the weather this afternoon was pleasant and the wind was minimal.

Yesterday, as I was heading home from Peacocks Pocket road I stopped to talk to a fisherman who was also leaving the area.

He said he caught a ladyfish that he chopped up for bait and then landed a 40" redfish on the cut bait.

To prove his story, he whipped out his Iphone and showed me a picture of the fish.

This afternoon, I decided to try the area where he said he caught the big breeder redfish.  It was the same general area where a group of wade fishermen pulled in some nice fish this past January,.

Karen was ok with this idea so we pulled up to the spot, which happened to be in Catfish Creek and set out the rods.

I brought a couple of Ande surf rods with Okuma baitrunner reels which I baited up with half a blue crab.

On my other rod I used a fresh chunk of finger mullet.

Karen used her Cajun Thunder float with a frozen jumbo shrimp for bait.

We fished the spot where we hoped to hook up with one of those "bull redfish" but never got a bite on any of our baits in the two hours we were in the area.

I was fishing a topwater Heddon Zara Spook Jr. and a Johnson Sprite gold spoon to pass the time and eventually got into the water to wade fish.

I didn't see any gators in the river area so I spent a half an hour or so wade fishig with the Johnson Sprite gold spoon.

I missed a redfish which churned up a nice wake and finally hooked up to a slot size sea trout which I released.

Karen gave up fishing the river side and moved to the marsh canal where she missed a fish she thought was a red.

There was a lot of activity on the marsh side and virtually none where I was wading Catfish Creek.

After a while the gnats started sucking too much blood from us so we decided to head for home and dinner.

At least we didn't get skunked.

Till next time, Tight Lines.

Windy Fishing Conditions

Windy fishing conditions prevailed today on the Indian River.

As I crossed the bridge to the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge it was evident that it would be a challenging day fishing.

Wind surfers and para-sailors were having a ball on the north side of the road and there were miniature whitecaps on the water.

 

I stopped to take a few pics of the action before heading to East Gator Creek road to pick up some bait.

After several tosses with the cast net, it was obvious that I was going to fish with artificial baits today.  The finger mullet that usually inhabit the area were gone, as were the mud minnows.

I decided to drive down to the most eastern entrance to Peacocks Pocket to start fishing.

I brought along my usual array of spinning rods tipped with different lures so I wasn't too concerned.

Although there was a lot of visitor traffic viewing the waterfowl and gators, Peacocks Pocket road was virtually devoid of fishermen while I was there.

I saw only two other fishermen who were using live finger mullet and cut baits. 

The only fish I saw caught during the time I was out there, was a hard head catfish.

I tried several of my "honey holes" but only had one hit  from a small sea trout for my efforts.

I used a Storm wildeye swim shad, a Chug Bug and a Johnson's Sprite gold spoon.

Because of the chop on the water, I fished primarily with the Chug Bug and the gold spoon but both lures weren't working out so well this afternoon.

The air temperature was in the high 60s and with the wind chill, it felt much colder so I didn't waste too much time tossing baits.

After about an hour and a half of windy fishing conditions, I decided that I had enough fun for one day.

 

  

I took some pics of the waterfowl before heading home.  Hope you enjoy them.

Till next time, Tight Lines.

Fishing Haulover Canal During A Windstorm

Fishing Haulover Canal during a windstorm was not exactly what I planned on this afternoon, but that's precisely where I wound up.

Fishing my usual spots in the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge has become tough to say the least.  There is a lot more fishing pressure in the area of Peacocks Pocket and the visitor traffic has increase at least twofold since last year.

Unlike myself, the fishermen who now fish the area are keeping their catch and the fish that are left have become lure wary and extremely spooky.

You can still catch some nice reds and an occasional gator sea trout in the "swamp" area, but they have become more and more rare. 

I opted for fishing Haulover Canal this afternoon because of the amount of traffic in the Peacocks Pocket area.

My wife went horseback riding so I packed up our wonder dog "Elmo" along with a couple of surf rods and headed for the canal.

I stopped by East Gator Creek to net some finger mullet for bait and was rewarded on my first cast with a dozen finger mullet.

When Elmo and I got to the canal, the weather was beginning to get nasty.  The wind started blowing and the clouds looked like they were going to let loose any minute.

 

Both of my surf rods have Okuma baitrunner reels on them.  One with 60# Power Pro and the other with 30#.

I opted for a sliding sinker rig and decided on "coin" sinkers instead of barrel sinkers above the swivels.  This type sinker literally "swims" above the bottom on a retrieve and in Haulover, this means less hangups on the coquina outcroppings.

I baited up one rig with half of a blue crab on a 5/0 hook and an almost live finger mullet on the second rod.

There was little to no current in the canal but there was some grass that had to be pulled off at regular intervals.

There were a bunch of kayakers in the boat launch area and a couple of folks in a canoe throwing a cast net around the banks of the canal for something.  

 

Elmo and I fished for about an hour in the first spot and an hour or so in the second spot near the Indian River end of the canal.

 

I lost a redfish or drum on the crab at the first spot and never had another bite on that bait.

I hooked and released a gaff topsail cat on the finger mullet and returned it to the water.  It was small and I didn't feel like cleaning the fish.

"Sail cats" are very good eating in case you're wondering.

As the wind got worse and the temperature started to drop, I decided to head for home and call it a day.

Hopefully, next time will be more productive.

You never know when fishing Haulover Canal!

Till next time, Tight Lines.

Fishing Patillo Creek During April

Fishing Patillo Creek seemed to be a good idea after Friday's disappointing trip, so after finishing up with my chores this afternoon, my wife and I decided to take Odie and Elmo fishing.

We loaded up several rods along with our two dogs who were eager to go fishing.

Both Odie and Elmo love riding in the truck in their "cruising mode".

The air temperature was hovering around 80 degrees and there was a decent wind blowing.

Karen wanted to try the "gumball" area around Patillo Creek so I stopped by East Gator Creek road to net up some finger mullet for bait before heading towards the area.

The first cast landed a dozen or so six inch plus baits so I didn't waste much time.

When we got to Patillo Creek road I was hoping that Shiloh road was open but when we drove up to the barrier, it was closed.

I turned around and decided to fish the large marsh pond before the first canal.

When we pulled off the road, I promptly tossed out a couple of live finger mullet on my bait casting rods and a cut bait on another spinning rod.

As Karen tossed her Precision Tackle Cajun Thunder Float rig with a jumbo dead shrimp into the wind, we sat down and hoped for the best.

I pulled out my Chug Bug and started blind casting the topwater bait into the opposite canal hoping for a stray sea trout.

Last March was the last time I fished the area and I knew that the fish are sometimes in the area however, today they were not.

A couple of fish and game officers drove up and checked us for our licenses.  As we chatted, I asked when Shiloh Marsh Road would be open.   Both of them said they doubted that it would be open at all this year because of the condition that the road was in and the littering.

As we talked, they told me about the black drum that are sometimes in the canal.

 

When they left us, Karen and I decided to give the area another hours worth of fishing before moving on.  The wind was blowing just enough to make long casts into the pond a problem and I'm not normally a bait fisherman.  Something to do with patience!

We didn't get any bites, so we moved down the road to fish the deeper Patillo Creek canal.

In the canal, there was a little wind on the water and there seemed to be a light current running opposite the direction of the wind.

Between the two of us, we had five rods out with various baits and after another hour and a half of fishing without a bite, we both decided to pack it in.   

Fishing Patillo Creek evidently wasn't such a great idea after all.

Today, for whatever reason, no one seemed to be catching any fish in the area.

Oh well, at least Odie and Elmo had a good time.

Till next time, Tight Lines.

Looking For Some Topwater Action

I was looking forward to some topwater action all week so when I got home from work on Friday, I unpacked my gear, loaded up a couple of fishing rods and headed for Peacocks Pocket road.

I only had an hour or so to fish before dusk so I headed for a couple of spots I hoped held fish this time of the year.

The water in the marsh area is lower than normal for April and the areas where I stopped to fish didn't produce anything but a couple of taps on a paddle tail bait.

I decided not to waste any time in the area so I moved up the road to another spot that normally holds redfish during low water periods.

I spotted two nice reds and a couple of black drum cruising up the marsh canal but they weren't interested in either my Chug Bug or Creme paddletail bait.

The weather was in the 70s and the wind was mild.  The water temperatures are up and the baitfish are in the lagoons, so the bite should be on.  Unfortunately, in this area it was not.

As it got closer to dusk, I continued tossing a Chug Bug randomly and did manage to pick up a couple of ladyfish that did their best to commit suicide on the lure.

Although both fish put up a nice battle and jumped all over the place before being landed, I was more interested in catching a redfish.

Somewhat disappointed but happy to just enjoy the evening, I decided to call it a day and give it another try tomorrow.

This area of the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge has been under heavy fishing pressure lately and the fish have seen just about every artificial lure known to man. In addition to all the vehicle traffic they endure, especially on weekends, the fish have become harder to catch consistently.

If the weather holds up, I'll try to get some topwater action in tomorrow in another area.  I think Patillo Creek is open.

Till then, Tight Lines.

Fishing The Windy Days

Fishing the windy days is never easy, especially around a lot of brush and tight cover.

My usual fishing excursions to the Mosquito Lagoon and Indian River have been cut short because of prior work commitments and the windy weather.  I don't like to continuously battle the wind to catch fish.

After coming home from work Friday evening, I drove around Peacocks Pocket road just to see if anyone was catching fish.

There were a few people driving around the road but mostly tourists enjoying the waterfowl.  I only saw two other fishermen, one in a kayak, and all they were catching was catfish.

 

Late Saturday afternoon I decided to give the bank fishing a try even though the wind was blowing quite a bit.

When I crossed the causeway bridge over the Indian River Lagoon at about 5:00 pm and saw the wind-board surfers skimming across the north side of the river, I knew it would be a tough afternoon fishing.

I had three rods with me tipped with a bass patterned Chug Bug, a Storm wildeye live sardine paddle tail bait and a "Gabbies" crab imitation.  I brought along a cast net but decided against using live bait today, mainly because I didn't care to waste time catching bait.

As it turned out, I probably should have cast for some finger mullet.

I tried several of my "honey holes" in the marsh side of the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge with only limited success.  I saw several sea trout and one cruising redfish but had no hits that I could feel.

I edged up to an area I call "snook point" and started fishing the paddle tail bait around some agitated finger mullet and finally hooked up to a small undersized sea trout.

I let let the fish go and tried for about half an hour to get something to hit my lures.

After the first sea trout hit, nothing was interested in that bait so I started casting the Chug Bug into the area.

When fishing the windy days you quickly realize how hard it is to make a lifelike presentation to the fish.  The topwater bait produced only one follow up and no hits, probably because it was skittering all over the surface.

Finally as it started towards dusk, the wind died down enough to make a half decent lure presentation.

I tossed the topwater bait to three cruising reds in the marsh canal but they had lockjaw.

Finally I decided to call it a day and head for some dinner.  The wind and rain had finally taken it's toll.

As I drove out of the refuge, I didn't bother to stop to fish some reds I saw cruising up the canal.  I figured they were pretty well spooked by now from all the people driving down the road.

On the way I spotted these guys out in the river fishing live bait.  It had been raining off and on during the afternoon, so these guys had to be "die hard" fishermen.

I took a few pics of some of the wildlife and a pretty rainbow over the space center and decided to finally call it a day.

As I passed the kayak launch I spotted a wild boar that I almost hit in the road.  As it was running down the trail I managed to get this quick shot off.  This pig was huge and was probably close to 300 pounds.

Hope you guys who are fishing the same area are doing better than I am.

Going to the gun show tomorrow so I probably will not be fishing, especially if it's windy.

Till next time, Tight Lines.